1 John 4.20 teaches that if anyone says they love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.

The Apostle John reduces the command to love our neighbor to loving our brother.

Our neighbor and our brother are not the same.

The Lord Jesus commanded we love our neighbor. This love is practiced when we see anyone in need of compassion and help them.

The Apostle John tells the Church to love their fellow participant and that if they cannot do that they cannot love God. Loving our brother is practiced by seeing them in need and helping them.

Regrettably the Church is full with those of us who hold grudges against fellow participants.

We deceive ourselves when we think our disdain for another Christian is acceptable to God because we don’t attend the same local church. This would be akin to two brothers living in different cities hating each other but thinking their parents were acceptable with that.

Our Father in heaven has adopted all of those who have received His First Born Son as their Savior and Lord and so commands His children to love one another.

Love means a host of things in addition to simply doing good to our brother in need. It means speaking well of our brother never giving ourselves to slander or gossip about our brother. It means thinking well of our brother so that we offer common courtesies when we encounter our brother.

We know those we dislike but if we truly love God we will remember how much He has forgiven us and so forgive the sins of our brother and instead, as God has loved us so generously and unconditionally, we too will love our brother.

Then the world will truly know we are Christians because we have love for one another.